Teachers' Resources

Teach your pupils how to build a giant nest, create a butterfly garden or make their own family tree!

The resources provided here have been submitted by Heritage Experts, teachers or prepared by other educational organisations. The resources are both fun and educational and are designed to inspire and develop an appreciation and curiosity about Ireland’s wonderful natural and cultural heritage.

Resources can be searched for under the following categories:

Guideline

School Biodiversity Plan

This template is for a Biodiversity Action Plan for your school has been put together by one of our very own Heritage Experts - Geoff Hunt. Geoff makes it easy for the children to assess and keep track of all the Biodiversity on your doorstep!

Barnardos: Outdoor Play Matters

This booklet is for parents and carers of young children up to the age of six, although most of the information applies to children of all ages. It highlights the benefits of outdoor play and shows how playing outside supports your child’s development.

Aistear Guidelines for Good Practice Play

Aistear is the curriculum framework for children from birth to six years in Ireland. It describes learning and development through the four interconnected themes of Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking. Chapter 3 – ‘Learning & Developing through Play’ outlines how play relates to these themes and how best to facilitate play among young children.

Wild Child Poll - Qualitative Survey (2010)

This research, commissioned by Heritage Council, was undertaken in order to understand the types of activities that today's adults undertook as children, and the extent to which their own children undertake the same activities today.

Grow A Tree

Simple and straightforward directions for growing your own tree from a seed!

A Guide for Schools on Climate Action UNESCO

Does your school want to help create a healthier, fairer, more environmentally sustainable society? Do you want to empower children and young people to do the same? Do you want to make your school more climate-friendly? If so, this guide is for you!

The guide is organised in four parts. Part 1 explains why you and your school should take on a whole-school approach to climate action. Part 2 outlines how your school can plan, put into practice, and evaluate your own strategies and visions for reducing climate change. Part 3 provides six guidelines that suggest how to concretely include climate action in your school governance, teaching and learning, campus and facility management, and partnerships with the community. The guidelines are accompanied by examples showing how schools around the world are taking action. At the end of the guide, in Part 4, you will find a table to help you monitor action in the thematic areas along the six guidelines.